Sunrise: 1st Jan – 07h.55m.
Sunset: 1st Jan – 17h.25m.
Full moon: 10th Jan.
VEGETABLE PLOTS: Seed broad beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, turnip, sprouting turnip (grelos), long large radish (rabanete), parsley. Can buy at local markets – cabbage (coração de boi), broccoli and cauliflower to plant. Plant early white onions. Peppers and aubergines can be seeded if kept warm inside house. Plant blueberries. Transplant raspberries. Make cuttings from red currents and plant, plant and transplant strawberries, (berries are a very reliable and high yielding source of fruit).
FIELDS: Towards the end of the month manure and prepare fields, (plough, rotorvate or dig) for early potatoes.
VINEYARDS/ TREES/ PRUNING/ GRAFTING: Prune vines, kiwis and trees (not olives) when the sap is going down with the waning moon, be careful with citrus, apple and fig trees, severe cuts can be harmful. Bind vines to their supports with raffia string. Can pick lemons all year round.
REMARKS: Distilleries open to make 'medronho' or distil at home. Ask the local 'old boys' if they don't have an 'alambique' to sell, alternatively they can be bought at markets especially in autumn and winter but are generally not as good quality as the old ones.
